Will the use of basket therapies mean certain SSA listings criteria will become less relevant? For example, basket clinical trials have had remarkable success. The drugs and drug combinations they test have shown remarkable success managing cancers that doctors consider inoperable or unresectable. Are current SSA listings requiring a cancer to be inoperable or unresectable still relevant if drugs that target the cancer’s
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Submitted by Community Memberin Jul 2015

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Many SSA listings criteria allow a finding of disabled if the cancer is persistent or progressive after initial anticancer treatment. Should basket treatment be considered the initial anticancer therapy if it is not effective, but traditional anticancer treatment (for example, surgery or radiation therapy) tried later is effective?

Submitted by Community Memberin Jul 2015

Voting

Career ACCESS pilot programs will be created by changes in federal policy aimed at significantly increasing the employment rate of people with disabilities by expecting young adults with disabilities ages 18 through 30 to work. CareerACCESS will provide required support and services recognizing that disability benefits are offsets to the high costs of disability rather than subsidies for the inability to work.

Voting

What lesser-known symptoms of PTSD might be helpful for adjudicators to know about, and what professional sources support this information?
a. Chronic sleep deprivation
Chronic partial sleep deprivation is a known symptom of trauma or stressor related disorders. In our experience adjudicators often misunderstand its effects perhaps due to not fully understanding the impact it can have on function. When we mention chronic
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How could the program encourage youth with disabilities to pursue apprenticeships, career development programs, post-secondary education, and other work-related opportunities in a manner similar to their peers without disabilities?

Voting

Some of the (lesser known?) symptoms might include irritability, social anxiety (not wanting to go out in public, avoiding crowded places), self-medicating with alcohol / drugs, emotional withdrawal from friends/family, depression, etc. The symptoms of PTSD are quite similar to those of depression, and also nearly identical to those of POST-CONCUSSION SYNDROME / MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. For example, many of our returning
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At what level do impairment-related limitations in attention, concentration, and persistence cause off-task behavior to the extent a person could not do any job on the national economy? What research supports this threshold?

Submitted by Community Memberin Mar 2016

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Are there related limitations besides attention, concentration, and persistence that affect a person’s ability to focus on tasks? How severe would they need to be to prevent someone from working? What previous research supports these suggestions?

Submitted by Community Memberin Mar 2016

Voting

I strongly support and encourage the role and use of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors and Vocational Experts in Social Security Administration, public and private disability claims in assessing an individual’s functional ability as it relates to a work environment. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors are uniquely trained in understanding the medical, psychological, social, and vocational effects of disability. Therefore,
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Voting

Fund more benefit planners with Workforce experience that have a mandated partnership at local SSA offices to assist with employment / wage reporting and any disputes. Creating a more direct line of communication, Workforce can assist with getting the correct information out there.

Submitted by Community Memberin Mar 2017

Voting

Many of the symptoms of post-traumatic conditions that produce functional limitations and behaviors are severe but intermittent. For that reason it is critical for adjudicators to consider evidence from non-professional sources in conjunction with evidence from professional sources. It is consistent with the nature of the post-traumatic impairments that particular symptoms might not be consistently present and observable
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